The Free Trade Network
The Free Trade Network (FTN), is multi-planet faction with Lilit and Libbu serving as joint hubworlds. The FTN was established in 1355 NE to protect the fledgling economies of the former ECK colonies after the Freedom Revolt. Critics of the FTN, particularly among The Creed, call it by the derogatory pseudonym 'The Cartel'. Structure The FTN Committee : The FTN’s executive body, The Committee, consists of 16 heads of industry. The Committee decides on all matters of FTN policy through majority member votes, with the weight of each vote determined by the preportional value of the corporation the committee member represents. The Committee gathers on an inaugral basis at the Liberty Villa in Arnum, on Libbu. : Membership of the Committee is decided by the Committee itself, with no public input. The leaders of the six largest corporations of the FTN have sat on the Committee since its inception (with the exception of Jack Dokus, who was expelled in 1398 NE). These positions are often figuratively referred to as the 'Golden Seats' or the 'Golden Six'. : The remaining 10 ‘Silver Seats’ are up for grabs for any industry leaders that the Golden Six care to lobby for. It is widely held – especially by The Creed – that competition for these seats, and the inevitable politics and back-scratching that goes on to get them, is the heart of all corruption within the FTN. The Golden Seats : The 'Golden Seats' of the FTN Committee are currently held by: : 1. Gerard Colchin, CEO of mining empire PEK14 : 2. Oscar Parthor, CEO of transport network operator WarpGrid : 3. Giles Akkad, CEO of medical corporation Harmony : 4. Jill Boda, CEO of mass media corporation FTN Media : 5. Henry Mede, CEO of technology giant LifeSpark : 6. Patrick Sukal, CEO of security firm StarGuard – (formally held by Jack Dokus of VentureCore) Honorary Delegates : Former Committee members and significant individuals deemed to have 'championed the cause of freedom' in the name of the FTN, can be awarded 'Honorary Delegate' status by Committee vote. In Creed propaganda they are referred to as 'cartel stooges'. : Honorary delegates are non-voting Committee members, outside of the 16 seats. They are recipients of various privileges within the FTN, and the status is often awarded to 'friends of the Committee'. Many act as advisors or mentors to Committee seat holders. Policy Objective The chief pledge of the FTN is to 'protect prosperity'. In practice this means ensuring the stability of markets against all odds. Those that threaten market stability can expect financial, legal, and even violent countenance. Threats that can't be stopped aggressively - the really powerful opponents - are often absorbed into the FTN's upper echelons instead. StarGuard, for example, threatened to side with VentureCore during the Creed Annexation unless they received a top Committee seat. Day to day market control is a vast balancing act played out across dozens of worlds, affecting millions of lives. The FTN holds that 'the free market will provide' - where it doesn't, the market is rebalanced to compensate. Law and Order : There is little direct gain for private security firms to police certain crimes, for example rape or murder - so the FTN has passed directives allowing registered security services responsible for apprehending such criminals to seize portions of the their assets - should they be found guilty. Cases are resolved in Committee Courts, with proceedings financed by the prosecution - who hope to recooping those costs following successful convictions. Cases with no obvious victim to compensate still result in fines to the accused, which pass to successful prosecutors. A vast industry of 'no win, no fee' law firms do good business across FTN space. Juries are selected at random from prominent locals. Committee Courts are usually 'pop up', having no fixed courthouse, but renting space where needed. The exceptions are the large Trade Courts that resolve legal disputes between corporations. In such courts, the highest appeals can by put before the FTN Committee itself. The FTN are typically opportunistic with their approach to sentencing. Convicts can reduce custodial terms by increasing the amount they are fined. The increase in fines is usually exponential. They can also 'buy out' of hard labour. Troublesome criminals without seizable assets are often put to work to pay their debt - the phrase 'holiday on Guskin' refers to serving out a prison sentence in Guskin's Ekalium mines. Convicts with enough cash can afford to serve their time in relative luxury. Insurance Employers are obliged to make insurance payments on behalf of their employees. Thus, any citizen in gainful employment within the FTN can expect a specific level of service from their relevant security firm, should they become the victim of a crime. The unemployed can only rely on criminal asset seizure to incentivise security firms to follow up on their grievances. Trade Protection / Innovation Zones In a designated Trade Protection Zone (TPZ), a levy is placed on every transaction to cover the potential costs of rectifying any potential breaches of contract and the like. This goes into the FTN's Assurance Fund - which pays out to security firms and prosecutors if needed. Otherwise it is spent on Committee upkeep. Transactions above a certain value are only valid in a TPZ. Trade Innovation Zones are deregulated, where transactions happen without contract protection. Typically, black markets thrive in these areas (particularly in the trade of embargoed Creed goods). TIZs and TPZs were devised by the FTN to balance markets. Trading with the Creed is economically sound for the FTN (and bad news for the Creed, who miss out on taxes) however the FTN-Creed propaganda prevents the FTN from lifting the embargo. Thus, under the innovation guise of allowing riskier ventures to take place, the FTN secures its trade links with Creed smugglers. TIZs can be revoked or extended to balance the markets accordingly. Lilit - specifically Firelake and Ankida - are a permanent TIZ. Category:Faction